"Who are the Uleys?" I asked Grandpa.
Grandpa wrinkled his nose, as if trying to finda way to describe them. "Sam and Emily are a couple...they will be getting married soon," he explained. "Sam is the head of a...group of boys on the reservation. He has been a great influence on all of them. Emily is the cousin of your friends the Clearwaters," he added. "But she was mauled by a bear a few years back and still has terrible scars; I trust you not to stare," he said sternly.
"Of course, Grandpa," I said. "They seem like nice people, but... I won't know anyone there!"
Grandpa laughed. "Oh, you won't, but I will," he said. "Don't worry, Ari, my dear, you'll be fine. The Clearwaters will be there, and a bunch of other kids from the tribe. You'll have a great time, I'm sure, and...maybe you'll meet a nice boy you like," he said, winking at me.
"Oh, Grandpa," I laughed. "I don't know about that."
"I wouldn't be so sure, darling," Grandpa said. And with that, he got up and went into his office.
I spent the whole afternoon worrying about Sam and Emily's party. Would the people like me? What would I do? What would the other kids be like? What should I wear? As I unpacked my bags, I planned out a dozen outfits, but disregarded each for being too summery, too wintery, too big, too small, too sexy, too modest, too nice, too casual. It was a relief to me when I heard the doorbell ring, lifting me from my despair.
I ran downstairs to find Grandpa at the door, chatting with a petite, dark-haired girl. She was very pretty, and smiled easily, her joy reaching all the way up to her warm brown eyes.
Grandpa turned around to see me standing at the base of the stairs. "Ari, come meet our neighbor. She heard about you moving in, and wanted to come say hi. Kim, this is my granddaughter Ariana."
I stepped forward to stand next to Grandpa. "Please, call me Ari," I said, extending my hand.
Kim smiled and shook it daintily. "Nice to meet you, Ari," she said. "Are you going to be at La Push High?"
I smiled. "Yeah, I'm a junior. It's kind of weird going into school this late in the year; we only have like two weeks left, right?"
Kim laughed. "Yes, thank God! I'm so tired of it. Usually, I love school, but it has just been too long."
I grinned. Kim was so easy to talk to, and she gave off a calming vibe. "Do you want to come inside?" I asked.
"I would love to, but I can't stay that long," Kim said. "I have to get ready for Sam and Emily's party, my boyfriend is coming to pick me up soon."
My eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, you're going too? Can you help me pick out something to wear? I'm totally lost."
Kim laughed again. "Of course! I'm always up for a clothesfest!"
Grandpa rolled his eyes at us as we dashed upstairs. "You girls have fun!" he called.
Kim and I talked and laughed as she helped me pick out some clothes to wear to the barbeque. She talked a lot about her boyfriend, Jared, who she described as "absolutely perfect". She seemed really in love, you could just tell by the way she talked about him. She also assured me that all the La Push kids were really nice, and that the classes at the high school were really easy for the most part.
We decided on my favorite dark-wash skinny jeans with Uggs and a long-sleeved light green cotton tee, accessorized with a brown leather belt and silver necklace and earrings. The whole look was low-key but made my blue-green eyes, which I thought were my best feature, really stand out. After we decided on an outfit for me, Kim ran to back to her house down the street to change into her outfit, with a promise to meet me at the party.
I quickly applied my favorite black eyeliner, and then polished my look with a dash of blue smoky eyeshadow. I put on a quick swipe of tinted gloss and then dashed downstairs to meet Grandpa.
"Well, don't you look nice," said Grandpa as I descended the stairs.
"Thanks, Grandpa, same to you," I said. He did look very nice. He had changed into jeans with a blue and grey striped button-down and a thick brown belt.
Grandpa smiled. "Come on, Ari, let's go."
I ran out behind him into the garage, which housed his black Chevy Malibu. "You can drive, can't you?" he asked, twirling his keys around on his finger.
I rolled my eyes. "Of course, Grandpa."
"Well then why don't you?" He tossed the keys to me, and I caught them nimbly.
"Sweet," I said. I was really excited to drive. I hadn't gotten a chance since last month, when I had gone grocery shopping for Barbara. She hated to let me drive, because she thought I was going to wreck the car every time I got behind the wheel. But the truth was that I was actually a very skillful and carful driver.
I hopped into the driver's seat and started the car. I pulled out into the road and saw Kim and a tall, tan, buff man walking with her down the sidewalk.
"Hi, Kim!" I called.
She looked up, smiled, and waved at me. I smile back and drove down the road into town, following Grandpa's instructions on how to get to Sam and Emily's.
About five minutes later, we pulled up to a small but well-cared-for and cheerful house. I pulled over to the curb, and, as I did, caught sight of the party in the back of
the house. It looked like the party was mostly populated by clones of Kim's boyfriend. Big, buff, tan, tall, and...gorgeous.
AUTHORS NOTE: PLEASE REVIEW! 3
